Monday, August 25, 2014

Wandering

WAY too long since I have posted anything - I knew things were going to be crazy when I decided to take a break - but I certainly didn't expect it to be as crazy as it has been! I have had an incredible 18 months, traveling, working (funny - I was SUPPOSED to be retired!), and handling family issues. But, I wanted to share some highlights of my travels, and truthfully, I have really missed blogging!

While in Ireland last month, a friend told me about a place she thought I should visit. I am SO glad I did - Downpatrick Head is in the north part of County Mayo, on the western side of the island. I had seen an aerial view of the sea stack on a DVD I have of Ireland, but seeing it in video is nothing like seeing it in person! The walk up the hill to the top of the cliff was beautiful, and my first view of the stack was incredible. I was very cautious not to get too close to the edge - it was a LONG way down! And, it was a windy day.

As I was walking back, I saw some people entering an area behind a small hill. All of a sudden, I saw something that looked like paper blowing up and swirling around. I was annoyed that people would be so careless at a national monument, and started walking toward them to let them know they had been seen. Imagine my surprise (and delight that I had not yet reached the group to speak my mind) when I realized that what was swirling around was seafoam, coming from the blowhole on the hill! The foam littered the ground like snow.

During World War II, Ireland was neutral, and there were 83 lookout posts around the coast, with each post numbered so planes flying overhead would know the country was not participating in the war. The stones below show the stone numbers uncovered, depicting "64", which was the number of the post, and the word "Eire", meaning Ireland.

Nothing like a little history lesson to go along with the scenery! To be continued...